Election processing (thoughts on optimism)

First off, congrats to America for defeating the bad guy! It ain't nuthin'.

I wanted to recap my side of an online conversation I had with my uncle after the election cuz I think it could make interesting thought-food... 

Basically he was pretty down because he was expecting a broad repudiation of Trump and the Republican party in general and enough Dems elected across the board to begin making headway on the many issues that confront us. Instead while we managed to pull out a win for President, results down-ballot were disappointing, pointing towards gridlock and more close elections going forward even against the most egregiously unfit opponents. This left my uncle bummed even as others were celebrating. And, yeah, he's got a point! 

But I also agreed with Josh Marshall at TPM that there are good and important reasons to celebrate this victory. For one thing, it's truly an important accomplishment! Losing would have been catastrophic, and we prevented that catastrophe. Furthermore:

It is also far more than okay to embrace and exult in this moment of victory. It is not just acceptable. There is a moral imperative to do so. As much as policies or particular ideas political movements and coalitions are communities, ones that suffer reverses and victories as communities, either well or poorly. How they do so isn’t just a matter of individual experience. These choices can sustain and grow political power, something political movements are always in the midst of gaining or dissipating. It is important to relish the fruits of the common exertions of a political coalition you are part of. It doesn’t just feel good. It sustains and builds power, the experience and proof that hard work and the seemingly endless exertions can have a real and tangible impact on the world we live in. No one will celebrate your victories for you. You can’t be powerful if you don’t act powerful.

JM then goes on to quote what he wrote in the immediate aftermath of Trump's victory four years ago:

Optimism isn’t principally an analysis of present reality. It’s an ethic. It is not based on denial or rosy thinking. It is a moral posture toward the world we find ourselves in. If everything seems great, there’s no need for optimism.

He argues that celebration is "another of these moral postures to the world we find ourselves in, an expression of commitment to our dignity and our values." This idea of acting with optimism of course equally applies to how we should approach the likely stalemated government we will face (absent upset victories in Georgia, a subject I'll return to in my next post).

Logic, reason and experience tell us McConnell will do everything in his power to sabotage the government and make our country's problems as bad as possible (while hiding behind disingenuous arguments) in order to increase Republicans chances of winning in 2022 and 2024. Likewise, bigger picture and in the slightly longer run, our failing to reign in environmental destruction will likely result in a spiral of disaster. No one needs to look far for reasons for pessimism if that's what you're after! 

But I like JM's argument for optimism, not because of the prognosis but in spite of it.  It's not about making predictions for the future, it's about deciding how we're going to live our lives. 

If you'll indulge me, I shared this (by now slightly dusty) Wilco song with my uncle and later offered my interpretation, which ties in with this topic:

It's a war on war
It's a war on war
It's a war on war
There's a war on
You're gonna lose
You have to lose
You have to learn how to die
If you want to want to be alive

A "war on war" is a losing proposition. For one thing it's an oxymoron, how can you wage war on waging war? But more to the point, there will always be war, it's inevitable. You might as well try to prevent the sun from setting or rising. You need to accept you're going to lose. Likewise, in life we are all going to ultimately "lose" when we die... learning "how to die" is really learning how to live with an acceptance of death, a necessity if we "want to want to be alive." "Want to want" nicely compliments the title, both in how the words sound and in the apparent logical contradiction... either you want something or not, right? But apparently in this case "you" may not want to be alive, given the state of things, but if you "want to want" to be alive first you need to accept loss and death and find a way to live and fight for your values in spite of it all. 

I feel like that jibes with JM's message about optimism.  In the case of our present politics it's not so much about “war” specifically as dishonesty/corruption/bigotry/cruelty/division/etc/etc... and it's a war we’re gonna lose! There will always be these things... But we can beat them back for a while, even making a real difference in people's lives. Along the way there will be victories and losses. We should keep our heads up, fight the good fight, accept what we can’t control, live our values, and take joy where we can find it. (Say, in Trump's upcoming legal troubles 😆) 

Along somewhat similar lines, Ernest Hemingway greatly romanticized bullfighting (personally not my thing, but whatever). For him the bull represents death... There will always be another bull... eventually we all must succumb to what the bull represents. But the bullfighter stands against death and for at least one moment defeats it with grace, poise and courage. To Hemingway this represents life's ultimate aspiration: To live well in spite of death.

In terms of politics an ethic of optimism allows us to operate with the belief that a better world is possible if we work to make it so. And that if we step up and do our part others will step up and do theirs. Not because evidence necessarily supports this, but because that's how we choose to live. Ironically I think living this way makes it more likely that we will experience more positive outcomes along the way. But, more importantly, it's a just a good way to live your life.